Niche Fragrance Magazine

Roja Parfums

Certain fragrances bring to mind an image of class, wealth, and sophistication. For me, these scents are simple, usually modeled after the eau de cologne, and impeccable in both quality and design. Some of my favorite examples are the great Acqua di Parma Colonia, Creed’s exquisite Pure White Cologne, and the elegant Roja Parfums Danger Pour Homme. Put on a nice pair of slacks, shoes, and a tailored shirt, then spritz on one of those fragrances—you’ll see exactly what I mean, as they will lift the spirit and perhaps the ego (but hopefully not too much). Another fragrance in this style is Oxford & Cambridge by Czech & Speake.KEEP ON READING

Disclaimer: I have not smelled the original Fougere Royale (1882) – these are my impressions of the updated Fougere Royale (2010), which has been completely altered and brought into line with IFRA regulations.

Houbigant – Fougere Royale (2010):

Lately I’ve been in the mood for a nice, properly masculine and old-fashioned fougere. The latest fougere I tried—Chanel Boy—was a disappointment for me. Fougere Royale was not.

I am told that the remake smells nothing like the original. Whether or not this is true, the new Fougere Royale succeeds at emulating a classical style. The two associated perfumers are geniuses, to put it mildly. Rodrigo Flores-Roux is the listed perfumer, and he worked with the magnificent Roja Dove in order to do the original justice with a proper update. The result is a classical aromatic fougere with tea-like herbaceous elements and spiced geranium.KEEP ON READING

Once in a while, when you have sampled enough fragrances, there comes along a scent that attracts your interest upon first spray. As the juice hits the skin, the opening is promising, and you inhale with eyes closed before letting out a contended sigh. Then, contrary to your expectations, you go about your day, ignoring the fragrance entirely because the fragrance turned out to be boring and forgettable. This was my experience with By Kilian’s Moonlight in Heaven.

The Good

My my, that is one magnificent bottle! Like all By Kilian fragrances, Moonlight in Heaven doesn’t skimp on the presentation. Everything from the packaging to the label and presentation clutch screams luxury and yet does not come across as gauche. The label is tinted blue, which along with the the scent, gives the impression of a humid Asian beach resort in the evening, moonlight glancing off of the tanned shoulders of seaside revelers, delectable fruits and sweet delights adorning silver trays. Moonlight in Heaven gets my highest marks for art direction, which is one area where the By Kilian line excels.KEEP ON READING

Orange and its derivatives are some of the most popular notes in all of perfumery. Depending on how they are presented and what portions of the tree are used (orange, orange blossom, neroli, and petitgrain are all derivatives of the orange tree), orange-based fragrances often come across as uplifting and clean. After testing a large portion of the niche market, here are some of my picks of the best orange-based fragrances for men:

Tom Ford Neroli Portofino: Neroli Portofino is on many of my top lists for a good reason. This is the epitome of the fresh neroli fragrances and is a classic cologne that actually lasts, especially in the heat of the summer. Mixing soapy oceanic accords with neroli, Neroli Portofino straddles the gap between a classical cologne and modern aquatic. Two flankers – Acqua and Forte – were recently released, and while the Acqua is totally forgettable and fleeting, the Forte would be nice for folks who would prefer a less soapy version of the original with added leather.KEEP ON READING

I love tea. Whether it is the artisanal blends, supermarket tea bags, or fancy Mariage-Frères sachets, I adore the delicate fragrances of tea and teahouses. Unfortunately, though lots of perfumes in the niche market are considered “tea” fragrances, only a few actually smell like tea or evoke any sort of associations with the drink. Here are my picks for the best of the tea (and tea-like) fragrances that can be worn by both men and women:

Tea fragrances:

By Kilian Imperial Tea: This is the most authentic of the tea fragrances. To me this smells like a high quality Chinese jasmine tea. It wears well, is extremely refreshing, and unisex when worn on the skin. Imperial? Not quite. But it’s certainly Tea.KEEP ON READING

It seems as though, the tobacco/vanilla combination is just as prevalent as oud/rose. .Nah… There are a fair amount of tobacco and vanilla centered offerings on the market, but not many of them are worth the time. Enter Roja Dove Enigma (or Creation-E outside of the Eurozone) why yes, I’m still in the midst of my Roja Dove shuffle, Vetiver has since become my signature scent!

Enigma is that super-wealthy uncle, that still dresses and talks like he teleported out of the Roaring Twenties..KEEP ON READING

I recently capitalized on the infamous Roja Parfums Outlet sale, and now I happily sit here with a lifetime supply of Fetish edp. As aptly named as any fragrance I have come across, Fetish runs the artistic course from mind to canvas with little to no deviation.

For anyone who thinks Fetish is just a leather-chypre, probably thinks masterworks by Picasso are just scribbles on paper. I get heaps of castoreum and leather, which leads me into the genius of Roja’s perverted, little dungeon in his head. Is Fetish, supposed to smell like sex, like, literally, Mr. Dove? Granted, the tests run on my hands have not been consistent with my full-wearing’s, but upon applying Fetish to my usual spots; pulse points, chest, and hopefully NO WHERE ELSE, I’m engulfed with what my imagination led me to believe is the aftermath of a marathon of love making. I get the sweat, the secretions, the warmth, the sweetness and potential sour aspects of skin, it gets MUSTY, in a good way. It was never my intentions to be R-rated with this one, but hey, blame Roja.KEEP ON READING

Oh Christmas, oh Christmas – it truly is a very special time of the year. Despite all the commercialism, there is still this magic floating in the air, a relic from your very personal childhood. The silence that covers the snow on a Sunday morning walk, the December-long frenzy of activity that culminates in legendary and often disastrous family events and the breathtaking peace of the morning after – all wonderful. The feeling of seeing one’s beloved or estranged family members once a year, the joy of symbolically putting the whole “old” year behind us, and the act of preparing for the new one. And on top of that all: the fragrances that encapsulate this special time for us, that pervade our senses, and make Christmas time so remarkable and unique.KEEP ON READING

As with other expressions of artistry and craft, perfume has its share of masterpieces. With paintings and similar artifacts, owning a treasure would cost a fortune. Fortunately, in the case of perfume, a masterpiece comes relatively cheap, and for the best of the best one need look no further than the Roja Parfums line. Priced at around $500 for 50 ml of perfume, Roja Dove’s work might seem extravagant, perhaps even a little ridiculous. But as with comparable artistic endeavors, one cannot put a price on perfection.KEEP ON READING

In my previous post, we explored some of the masculine offerings from the wonderful house of Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle. Today we will be exploring a few of the house’s most interesting unisex fragrances. I have sampled each of these extensively and will attempt to provide balanced commentary. These are my impressions:

Cologne Indelebile (Dominique Ropion):

How it smells: Cologne Indelebile is an eau de cologne that actually lasts. Instead of the traditionally fleeting and citrus heavy spritzers that define the genre, Ropion’s creation pairs an intensely floral orange blossom (cut with narcissus) with a blend of musks. Here the musks have significantly more depth than the somewhat flat white musks used in other colognes – it feels like a combination of laundry-clean white musks, something steamy and ozonic (think of the steam note in Penhaligon’s Sartorial), and the tiniest drop of a musk with mild animalic facets. Bright (but fleeting) citrus top cut with mint and a dash of narcissus, floral mid, and musky base.KEEP ON READING

Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle is a house that is very well-respected in the niche fragrance community. Its esteemed figurehead, Estee Lauder Frederic Malle, is considered to be a talented editor of perfumes. It shows. The compositions crafted for this house are artfully done, stripped of excess, and technically innovative. And true to the brand’s purpose in giving perfumers freedom to express their creativity, the elegant bottles feature prominently the names of the perfumers.

Two significant things that I noticed about the Frederic Malle line: first, the names of the fragrances almost always accurately reflect the smell contained in the bottle; second, one should approach these fragrances as one would a soliflore – most fragrances from the collection are designed to draw out different facets of a single dominant note (tuberose, bitter orange, vetiver, etc.).KEEP ON READING

I enjoy many fragrances from the Xerjoff line. Being an Italian luxury brand, Xerjoff does citrus better than most other fragrance houses. 1861, Nio, and Kobe are excellent examples of Italian perfumery at its finest. Each of these fragrances are very natural, top quality, and breathtakingly beautiful. And while Xerjoff is probably known for its citrus fragrances, it certainly is no slouch in producing fragrances that build on foreign aesthetics. A few in particular – Richwood, Mamluk, Homme, etc. – are very well known for departing from the Italian aesthetic while still being excellent fragrances. So it was with great delight that I opened my sample vial of Richwood, excited to see what Xerjoff could do with the luxurious and exotic note of sandalwood.KEEP ON READING

Ok, ok, so the title is firmly tongue-in-cheek. I am a firm believer in the concept of wearing what you like regardless of the gender designation of said fragrance. And men should of course wear what they like. I wear some masculines myself, among them Dior Homme Intense and Caron’s Third Man, and applaud any man who breaks out of the generic masculine mold to wear florals and gourmands.

But let’s say, hypothetically speaking, you want to deliberately project a certain type of Alpha Maleness to your immediate surroundings – well, you’d need a fragrance so incontrovertibly male that wimmenfolk would instinctively shrink away and lesser men would sniff the air around you and immediately hit the ground in a submissive position. Here is a list of fragrances that would do the job just fine.KEEP ON READING

This fragrance fascinated me from the distance long before I had the chance to give it a first try. Two years ago while in holiday in France I tested a few perfumes by Roja Dove and remained impressed by their complexity. I remember Enslaved particularly as a smoother, more refined version of the original Habanita and in that very hot summer day two sprays of Enslaved on my shoulders were pure magic. As I walked outside the perfumery I noticed the creaminess of the middle part of Enslaved coming from a mixture of ylang-ylang lighted by woody fresh accents of vetiver. Sadly, Diaghilev was not available there and I always imagined it as a masterpiece, based on so many positive reviews.KEEP ON READING

The views, opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations shown in the articles of FragranceDaily.com are solely those of the authors of those articles and do not necessarily reflect the views, policy or position of the Essenza Nobile® GmbH or any affiliated brands and should not be attributed to any of them.